SAN MARCOS, Texas – A hidden camera video that appears to show a Texas State University administrator discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices is drawing attention from state officials and prompting a potential investigation.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says his office plans to review the video, which was released this week by the media watchdog group Accuracy in Media.
The footage, recorded in June 2025, appears to show Gloria Martinez-Ramos, director of the Center for Gender Studies at Texas State, talking about DEI-related policies and how staff may be adapting to state restrictions.
In one portion of the video, she says, “They’ve been building this up for the last 20 years It’s hard for them to undo all of this.”
In another portion, Martinez-Ramos appears to downplay concerns about the impact of Texas laws restricting DEI efforts, saying, “They’re trying to scare college students that this is going to be gone and over, and that’s not the case.”
And later, we hear Martinez-Ramos describing ways faculty could incorporate diversity-related concepts into coursework despite restrictions on formal diversity statements.
“You don’t call it [a] diversity statement. You call it your teaching philosophy,” she says. “But instead of having a statement like separate, I tell faculty, put it in your syllabus. They still have the academic freedom to put it in their syllabus.”
Texas Senate Bill 17, which took effect in 2024, bans DEI offices, certain hiring practices, and mandatory trainings at public universities.
In a statement, Texas State University said it was not aware of the video until it was posted publicly and emphasized its compliance with the law.
The university remains committed to full compliance with SB17, as well as all applicable state and federal laws and executive orders… The employee’s comments do not reflect the views, policies, or actions of the university.Texas State has established review processes to ensure continued compliance with SB17. The university also conducts regular reviews of its curriculum and programs to ensure alignment with institutional standards and all state and federal laws.The university’s provost and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts are reviewing the matter related to the video.
When asked about Martinez Ramos’ employment status, the university did not respond. A link to her staff profile page currently returns a “page not found” message.
Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette said the group chose to release the video now as part of a broader series of investigations.
“What’s unfortunate is that there are so many investigations that we’ve conducted into DEI and higher education across the country that we can’t release all of them fast enough,” Guillette said. “This is the third video alone from the state of Texas in the past month and a half. And unfortunately, there are more to come.”
Guillette says the video warrants further scrutiny.
Attorney General Paxton, responding to questions about the video, said, “Certainly gonna look at that. I was not aware of that, but we will definitely look at it, because these universities under Texas law are not supposed to be pushing DEI.”
The situation at Texas State is not the only one drawing attention.
Federal investigations are also underway into DEI-related practices at the University of North Texas and Rice University.
AG Paxton previously announced he was looking into DEI policies at the University of North Texas in April.